Doomsday Game, page 6
* * *
A little while later, the four of them materialised on one of two transfer stages housed within the transfer hangar on Alpha Zero’s Easter Island. Rozalia glanced towards the second stage and saw a truck manoeuvring down the ramp and guessed it had materialised just moments before they had.
‘Is that a water-truck?’ asked Chloe, looking towards the vehicle.
‘It is,’ said Yuichi. ‘Guess we’re having problems with the local supply again.’
They made their way down the ramp of their own stage and dropped their heavy backpacks on the ground. Yuichi and Chloe got into conversation with a soldier manning the stage controls.
Rozalia took hold of Jerry’s arm and led him a short distance away from everyone else. ‘Spill,’ she said, turning to face him. ‘Doesn’t take a genius to see you and Chloe have been biting each other’s heads off again. What started it this time?’
Jerry’s face crumpled. ‘I wish I could tell you. She bickers at me, I argue back. I don’t even really know what about. I spent the last three nights sleeping on our couch.’ He looked at her with a pained expression. ‘Could you please talk to her again?’
Rozalia raised her eyebrows, hands on hips. ‘Do you remember what happened the last time I talked to her and she found out it was because you asked me to do it?’
He winced. ‘I guess.’ He sighed. ‘The whole thing is…exhausting.’
Rozalia was pretty exhausted herself, and now here she was trying to sort out someone else’s problems—again.
Look after yourself first, she pictured Nadia saying, before you start worrying about anyone else.
‘Maybe she’s worried about you,’ said Rozalia. ‘I mean, after what happened to Oskar, we’re all on edge.’ She reached out and touched his elbow. ‘Have you thought about just asking her what’s got her so worked up?’
Jerry looked at Rozalia like it was the dumbest thing she could have said. ‘Of course I have. See how far it got me?’
She laughed, low and derisive. ‘So what’s your thinking in all this, exactly? You think because I’m a girl she’ll open up to me?’
Jerry’s face coloured very slightly. ‘Well, yeah.’
‘I swear, there are times when you show all the emotional nous of a kid on his first day in kindergarten.’ She slapped him on the shoulder and gave him a look of sympathy. ‘My best advice,’ she said, ‘is to give her some time until she’s ready to talk. And when she is, you need to talk to her, not me or anyone else.’
Jerry’s face grew red and he mumbled something under his breath. Rozalia turned away and went to join the other two Pathfinders, who had in turn been joined by Kip.
‘Glad to see you’re back in one piece,’ the Director said to Rozalia. ‘Chloe was just giving me a quick rundown of how things went.’
Rozalia shook her head. ‘Not so good, I’m afraid.’
‘It was a long shot anyway,’ Kip conceded with a shrug. He favoured her with a brief smile. ‘Now, I know you’re just back, but there’s been some new developments we need to talk about.’
‘What kind of developments?’ asked Yuichi.
‘I’ve asked the other Pathfinders to join me for a briefing,’ Kip explained, ‘now that you’re back. They’re waiting for you across the compound.’
Rozalia gave him a quizzical look. ‘Why such short notice? The way I’ve been hearing it we’re on the verge of being retired, and now we’re getting sent back out already?’
‘This might be the most important thing I’ve asked any of you to do,’ Kip said, his tone serious. He gestured towards the hangar entrance, seeing the surprised looks on their faces. ‘Get yourselves freshened up first and I’ll expect you all in Debriefing Room Six in fifteen minutes.’
* * *
Rozalia had a quick shower and a change of clothes in the hangar’s ready room, then joined Chloe and Yuichi as they made their way to a prefab building on the other side of the island’s military compound. The sky above Rano Kau was dark and heavy with storm clouds, and a stiff, cool wind caught at their hair as they walked.
Nadia was already in the debriefing room, as were Selwyn and Winifred, perched on cheap fold-down seats arranged around a table. A dust-laden lectern stood in one corner next to a steel trolley that bore a projector. A projection screen had been rolled down. There was no sign of Randall.
‘So what’s this about?’ Winifred was asking as Rozalia walked in. ‘I had one of the Major’s men at my front door telling me I had to come here pronto.’
Selwyn shrugged. ‘Same here,’ he said. ‘Hardly finished my bloody coffee before one of them had me in the back of his jeep.’
‘Don’t complain,’ said Rozalia, finding somewhere to sit amongst the rest of them. ‘It’s not like we’ve been overwhelmed with work for a while now.’
Selwyn grunted an acknowledgement. ‘True. I must have read every paperback on this island at least twice in the past six months.’
‘Amen to that,’ muttered Winifred. She looked around. ‘Has anyone heard how Randall’s doing?’
‘Holed up in his place listening to country records,’ said Jerry. ‘I went round to talk to him, but he wasn’t exactly talkative.’
‘Those two were like peanut butter and bread,’ said Nadia. ‘Couldn’t hardly separate the one from the other.’
‘The reason I ask,’ said Winifred, ‘is we need to talk about a wake.’
‘What about bringing another Oskar back?’ asked Selwyn. ‘Has there been talk about that?’
‘I’m afraid that isn’t going to happen,’ said Kip, walking in and pulling the door shut against a sudden squall of wind. He placed a briefcase next to the projector.
Selwyn looked confused. ‘Why not?’
‘Because we’re excess to purposes.’ Nadia’s voice was flat, her gaze directed at Kip. ‘Right?’
Kip’s face flushed red. ‘That’s hardly true.’
‘Yeah?’ said Yuichi, arms folded. ‘I heard what Randall told you when he got back from dee-two-five. How that Merritt guy said we were going to get shut down within weeks.’
Kip looked at him sharply. ‘Preston Merritt is no longer part of the Pathfinder Project, as I’m sure you’re all aware by now.’
‘So he was lying when he said that?’ asked Yuichi.
‘You know,’ said Kip, ‘I remember a time when you people were less than thrilled about having to investigate all these alternate universes for us. What changed?’
Jerry shrugged. ‘Everything. Nothing. Back then we didn’t know what you wanted from us and now we do. We just want to know what’s going to happen to us now.’
Kip sighed and stepped over to the projector. ‘I’m aware you’ve all been under-utilised as of late, but you’re not quite ready for retirement yet.’
‘Before we start,’ asked Nadia, leaning forward on her chair, ‘how about telling us what the situation is right now with the water supply? I saw water trucks coming out of the hangar, and there’s another storm on the horizon.’
‘As a matter of fact,’ said Kip, ‘I meant to talk about that as well. There’ll be another curfew when the storm hits, most probably tonight, if not sooner. You know the drill: don’t go outside without protection from the rain. You don’t want to end up in the clinic.’
Selwyn nodded. ‘I heard about those soldiers who got caught out.’
‘Yes.’ Kip nodded his head gravely. ‘We can ride a toxic storm out, of course. We’ve done it enough times in the recent past. But I don’t know how long we can keep shipping water in from the Authority. It’s getting harder to justify keeping operations running on this alternate now we have an entire unpopulated world in Nova Terra.’
‘But if we have to move from here,’ said Yuichi, ‘how do we maintain our independence?’
‘Strictly speaking,’ said Kip, ‘we’ve never been “independent”. It’s just that we were something of a side-show for a long time. Now with Katya, well…’ He shrugged. ‘These days we’re centre-stage because of her. And that’s bringing changes.’ He cast a brief look around them. ‘Good changes.’ He gestured to the projector. ‘Now, if I may?’
He waited until several moments of silence had passed before hooking the projector up to a wire that led to an external generator. ‘You all know about the disaster at the Old Horse Springs EM facility,’ he continued as he worked. ‘It’s going to take years to rebuild it, if at all.’
‘”If at all?”’ Nadia echoed.
Kip finished fiddling about with the projector and switched it on, shining a square of white light onto the drop-down screen. He glanced towards the door as if concerned someone might be standing there listening. ‘Look,’ he said in reply to Nadia, ‘the fact is there probably won’t be an Authority in another five years.’
Nadia stared at him. ‘What exactly do you mean?’
‘I mean the collapse of the mean global temperature on my alternate is increasing,’ Kip explained. ‘Without a clear and workable plan for evacuation to Nova Terra, we can expect the total breakdown of society in the very near future—and that’s the optimistic view. The failure of the Old Horse Springs Facility makes it inevitable.’
‘That’s just the US,’ said Chloe. ‘What about the rest of your alternate?’
‘In all cases,’ said Kip, ‘the prognosis is far worse. And that brings me to your mission—I’m sending you to retrieve exotic matter.’
Yuichi sat up, suddenly alert. ‘You’ve found a source?’
‘On an alternate named Gamma Three. You were first on the ground there a few years back, Yuichi, if I recall.’ He looked around at the rest of them. ‘We didn’t know it was there until Katya looked through some old files. Now, I want a team of four of you to transfer over there, the same number as last time. But there are risks involved, so I need the rest of you to pay attention in case you’re needed for backup.’
The door opened just then and Katya hobbled in on a pair of crutches. Next to her was a supplies officer named Riggs, guiding her in by her elbow.
‘Thank you, David,’ Katya said to Riggs. ‘I can take it from here.’
Riggs nodded and left. Nadia and Rozalia stood and helped Katya into a seat.
‘You’re just in time, Miss Orlova,’ Kip said to her.
‘It’s good to have you back in one piece,’ said Yuichi. ‘We were all worried about you.’
‘Thank you,’ said Katya, leaning her crutches against the side of the table before taking a quick glance around at the rest of them. ‘I got your card. It was delightful.’
‘I think we should get straight down to things,’ Kip said to her.
‘I agree,’ she said. ‘Before we start, however, I have a small request.’ She looked around at them. ‘Some of you remember Damian Kuzakova, who was in charge of the Soviet scientific delegation some years ago when I first came to this alternate and this island. Damian was hurt much more badly than I in the accident at the Old Horse Springs facility. He would appreciate visitors should any of you have the opportunity. I fear he may have to remain in hospital for some considerable time.’
‘Of course,’ said Nadia. The others nodded.
Katya nodded in turn to Kip. ‘The slide projector, please?’
‘Here,’ he said, passing her the projector’s remote. Katya clicked it and a broken landscape appeared on the screen. The picture had been taken from what appeared to be the slope of a mountain or hill, and showed the jagged remains of buildings spread out beneath a starless sky.
‘What’s the catalogue title for this one?’ Nadia asked Kip.
‘Category 2 NTPD.’
‘Self-inflicted?’ asked Rozalia.
Katya nodded. ‘You can see from the sharpness of the picture that Gamma Three lacks any breathable air or indeed any atmosphere of any kind. It was drained out through this.’
The picture changed, showing a round black flat circle that cut through part of a hill. It was hard to judge its scale unless you looked at the surrounding terrain, in which case it revealed itself to be perhaps fifteen or twenty kilometres in diameter.
In fact, it wasn’t a circle, Rozalia realised, but a pit—a huge one. She glanced over at Nadia and saw that her face had grown marginally paler.
‘A physics experiment involving exotic forms of matter resulted in the creation of a one-ended wormhole,’ Katya explained. ‘You’re looking at its mouth. The far end of the wormhole has been receding from the surface of Gamma Three at the speed of light for nearly a quarter of a century.’
‘I’m still amazed by it,’ said Yuichi with a half-grin on his face. ‘Imagine—a hole twenty-five light-years deep, and getting deeper with every passing second.’
‘Gives me the heebie-jeebies,’ said Nadia with a shiver.
Selwyn shook his head, apparently baffled. ‘I don’t get it. The Earth is what—thirteen thousand kilometres across? So how can a pit be deeper than the planet is wide?’
‘Because the nature of a wormhole is that it extends outside of the physical boundaries of the universe that births it,’ Yuichi explained. ‘It’s a little like how the transfer stages work, except the wormhole in that case is open at both ends and very, very short.’
Selwyn’s face took on a look of horror. ‘So how do we know the same thing that happened to Gamma Three couldn’t also happen to Katya’s facility? Or one of our transfer stages?’
‘I believe the people responsible for generating that bottomless pit made certain fundamental errors of judgement,’ Katya replied. She clicked the remote again and more pictures appeared on the screen, this time showing different views of a single building standing alone amidst a flat and devastated landscape. ‘A few of you explored this structure when you were sent there. I’m quite certain it’s an EM containment facility, although you wouldn’t have realised its significance at the time. Their EM—most likely antimatter—fuelled the creation of that wormhole, and that same exotic matter can allow our transfer stages to establish stable connections between alternate Earths.’ She shifted in her chair so she could again look around at all of them. ‘If I’m right, what you find there could more than make up for the damage to my facility. It could help save tens of millions, if not hundreds of millions, of lives.’
‘Well, that sounds easy,’ said Nadia. ‘We go there, bring the EM back, and all our problems are solved.’
‘If I’m right,’ warned Katya. ‘Otherwise we’re right back where we started.’
‘When do we go?’ asked Yuichi.
‘I scheduled a transfer slot for tomorrow morning,’ said Kip. ‘Nadia, Chloe, Jerry—I’d like the three of you to join Yuichi on this one. You’re all the best qualified.’
They each nodded their agreement.
‘Excellent,’ said Kip, opening his briefcase. He pulled out a handful of documents with “TOP SECRET” stamped on each and passed them out to each of the Pathfinders. ‘I want you all to get yourself acquainted or re-acquainted with everything known about Gamma Three by tomorrow morning.’
‘I guess we ought to talk this over,’ said Chloe, turning to the three other Pathfinders scheduled to travel to Gamma Three. ‘How about now? We could get some breakfast over at Yuichi’s and go over the details.’ She nodded to Rozalia. ‘Want to tag along? You’ve still got a thousand-yard stare after nearly getting munched by that lizard back there.’
‘I guess,’ said Rozalia. She and the other Pathfinders headed outside, and she noticed the air tasted damper than when she had gone in.
‘It’s going to rain later,’ said Chloe gloomily, gazing up at the grey skies. ‘I never thought I’d be afraid of rain. How many curfews is that we’ve had in just the last six months? Twelve?’
‘More like sixteen,’ said Yuichi. ‘It’s some kind of miracle we’ve lasted on this island as long as we have. Merritt might be a murderous son of a bitch, but I can’t help thinking he was right about us needing to abandon it altogether.’
‘And go where?’ asked Rozalia. ‘Nova Terra?’
‘It’s not like we didn’t make our own plans,’ said Chloe, her voice low. ‘The question is do we light out now, or later?’
Rozalia looked at Chloe and wondered if this was, indeed, the time to light out. For years now, she and the other Pathfinders had been secretly stockpiling supplies on a relatively low-risk alternate with the intention of using it as a bolt-hole should the need arise. From the moment Katya Orlova had joined the Pathfinder Project, the Pathfinders themselves had become yesterday’s heroes—and she wasn’t sure she wanted to stick around long enough to find out just what plans the Authority might have for them once they decided they really were excess to requirements.
A silence fell over the group as they trudged across the grass towards a car pool next to the compound gates. ‘I don’t think there’s any hurry,’ Rozalia said at last. ‘Or at least, nothing’s going to happen without Kip warning us first. Besides, we’ve got this mission to do. We can talk again after it’s over.’
They reached the car pool and the rest of them piled into jeeps. Rozalia hesitated, then turned to Nadia. ‘I need some space after that damn thing tried to eat me,’ she said. ‘Like maybe taking a ride on the bike.’
Nadia looked towards the horizon. ‘You know, that storm’s probably going to hit in just the next couple of hours. Remember what happened to Major Howes’ guys. One of them died, Roz.’
‘I’ve faced a lot worse than toxic rain,’ said Rozalia. ‘And I’ll go nuts if I’m stuck in that house for too long. I know how to take care of myself, honey.’
Nadia pulled her close. The others had already piled into jeeps and driven off through the compound gates and back towards town. ‘I don’t need you,’ said Nadia, ‘any crazier than you already are. At least wait until tomorrow morning. Maybe the storm’ll be over by then.’
Rozalia grinned and touched Nadia’s lips with her own. ‘Then I guess I can wait if I have to.’
II
Raggedy Men
Rozalia
Easter Island, Alternate Alpha Zero
A little while later, the four of them materialised on one of two transfer stages housed within the transfer hangar on Alpha Zero’s Easter Island. Rozalia glanced towards the second stage and saw a truck manoeuvring down the ramp and guessed it had materialised just moments before they had.
‘Is that a water-truck?’ asked Chloe, looking towards the vehicle.
‘It is,’ said Yuichi. ‘Guess we’re having problems with the local supply again.’
They made their way down the ramp of their own stage and dropped their heavy backpacks on the ground. Yuichi and Chloe got into conversation with a soldier manning the stage controls.
Rozalia took hold of Jerry’s arm and led him a short distance away from everyone else. ‘Spill,’ she said, turning to face him. ‘Doesn’t take a genius to see you and Chloe have been biting each other’s heads off again. What started it this time?’
Jerry’s face crumpled. ‘I wish I could tell you. She bickers at me, I argue back. I don’t even really know what about. I spent the last three nights sleeping on our couch.’ He looked at her with a pained expression. ‘Could you please talk to her again?’
Rozalia raised her eyebrows, hands on hips. ‘Do you remember what happened the last time I talked to her and she found out it was because you asked me to do it?’
He winced. ‘I guess.’ He sighed. ‘The whole thing is…exhausting.’
Rozalia was pretty exhausted herself, and now here she was trying to sort out someone else’s problems—again.
Look after yourself first, she pictured Nadia saying, before you start worrying about anyone else.
‘Maybe she’s worried about you,’ said Rozalia. ‘I mean, after what happened to Oskar, we’re all on edge.’ She reached out and touched his elbow. ‘Have you thought about just asking her what’s got her so worked up?’
Jerry looked at Rozalia like it was the dumbest thing she could have said. ‘Of course I have. See how far it got me?’
She laughed, low and derisive. ‘So what’s your thinking in all this, exactly? You think because I’m a girl she’ll open up to me?’
Jerry’s face coloured very slightly. ‘Well, yeah.’
‘I swear, there are times when you show all the emotional nous of a kid on his first day in kindergarten.’ She slapped him on the shoulder and gave him a look of sympathy. ‘My best advice,’ she said, ‘is to give her some time until she’s ready to talk. And when she is, you need to talk to her, not me or anyone else.’
Jerry’s face grew red and he mumbled something under his breath. Rozalia turned away and went to join the other two Pathfinders, who had in turn been joined by Kip.
‘Glad to see you’re back in one piece,’ the Director said to Rozalia. ‘Chloe was just giving me a quick rundown of how things went.’
Rozalia shook her head. ‘Not so good, I’m afraid.’
‘It was a long shot anyway,’ Kip conceded with a shrug. He favoured her with a brief smile. ‘Now, I know you’re just back, but there’s been some new developments we need to talk about.’
‘What kind of developments?’ asked Yuichi.
‘I’ve asked the other Pathfinders to join me for a briefing,’ Kip explained, ‘now that you’re back. They’re waiting for you across the compound.’
Rozalia gave him a quizzical look. ‘Why such short notice? The way I’ve been hearing it we’re on the verge of being retired, and now we’re getting sent back out already?’
‘This might be the most important thing I’ve asked any of you to do,’ Kip said, his tone serious. He gestured towards the hangar entrance, seeing the surprised looks on their faces. ‘Get yourselves freshened up first and I’ll expect you all in Debriefing Room Six in fifteen minutes.’
* * *
Rozalia had a quick shower and a change of clothes in the hangar’s ready room, then joined Chloe and Yuichi as they made their way to a prefab building on the other side of the island’s military compound. The sky above Rano Kau was dark and heavy with storm clouds, and a stiff, cool wind caught at their hair as they walked.
Nadia was already in the debriefing room, as were Selwyn and Winifred, perched on cheap fold-down seats arranged around a table. A dust-laden lectern stood in one corner next to a steel trolley that bore a projector. A projection screen had been rolled down. There was no sign of Randall.
‘So what’s this about?’ Winifred was asking as Rozalia walked in. ‘I had one of the Major’s men at my front door telling me I had to come here pronto.’
Selwyn shrugged. ‘Same here,’ he said. ‘Hardly finished my bloody coffee before one of them had me in the back of his jeep.’
‘Don’t complain,’ said Rozalia, finding somewhere to sit amongst the rest of them. ‘It’s not like we’ve been overwhelmed with work for a while now.’
Selwyn grunted an acknowledgement. ‘True. I must have read every paperback on this island at least twice in the past six months.’
‘Amen to that,’ muttered Winifred. She looked around. ‘Has anyone heard how Randall’s doing?’
‘Holed up in his place listening to country records,’ said Jerry. ‘I went round to talk to him, but he wasn’t exactly talkative.’
‘Those two were like peanut butter and bread,’ said Nadia. ‘Couldn’t hardly separate the one from the other.’
‘The reason I ask,’ said Winifred, ‘is we need to talk about a wake.’
‘What about bringing another Oskar back?’ asked Selwyn. ‘Has there been talk about that?’
‘I’m afraid that isn’t going to happen,’ said Kip, walking in and pulling the door shut against a sudden squall of wind. He placed a briefcase next to the projector.
Selwyn looked confused. ‘Why not?’
‘Because we’re excess to purposes.’ Nadia’s voice was flat, her gaze directed at Kip. ‘Right?’
Kip’s face flushed red. ‘That’s hardly true.’
‘Yeah?’ said Yuichi, arms folded. ‘I heard what Randall told you when he got back from dee-two-five. How that Merritt guy said we were going to get shut down within weeks.’
Kip looked at him sharply. ‘Preston Merritt is no longer part of the Pathfinder Project, as I’m sure you’re all aware by now.’
‘So he was lying when he said that?’ asked Yuichi.
‘You know,’ said Kip, ‘I remember a time when you people were less than thrilled about having to investigate all these alternate universes for us. What changed?’
Jerry shrugged. ‘Everything. Nothing. Back then we didn’t know what you wanted from us and now we do. We just want to know what’s going to happen to us now.’
Kip sighed and stepped over to the projector. ‘I’m aware you’ve all been under-utilised as of late, but you’re not quite ready for retirement yet.’
‘Before we start,’ asked Nadia, leaning forward on her chair, ‘how about telling us what the situation is right now with the water supply? I saw water trucks coming out of the hangar, and there’s another storm on the horizon.’
‘As a matter of fact,’ said Kip, ‘I meant to talk about that as well. There’ll be another curfew when the storm hits, most probably tonight, if not sooner. You know the drill: don’t go outside without protection from the rain. You don’t want to end up in the clinic.’
Selwyn nodded. ‘I heard about those soldiers who got caught out.’
‘Yes.’ Kip nodded his head gravely. ‘We can ride a toxic storm out, of course. We’ve done it enough times in the recent past. But I don’t know how long we can keep shipping water in from the Authority. It’s getting harder to justify keeping operations running on this alternate now we have an entire unpopulated world in Nova Terra.’
‘But if we have to move from here,’ said Yuichi, ‘how do we maintain our independence?’
‘Strictly speaking,’ said Kip, ‘we’ve never been “independent”. It’s just that we were something of a side-show for a long time. Now with Katya, well…’ He shrugged. ‘These days we’re centre-stage because of her. And that’s bringing changes.’ He cast a brief look around them. ‘Good changes.’ He gestured to the projector. ‘Now, if I may?’
He waited until several moments of silence had passed before hooking the projector up to a wire that led to an external generator. ‘You all know about the disaster at the Old Horse Springs EM facility,’ he continued as he worked. ‘It’s going to take years to rebuild it, if at all.’
‘”If at all?”’ Nadia echoed.
Kip finished fiddling about with the projector and switched it on, shining a square of white light onto the drop-down screen. He glanced towards the door as if concerned someone might be standing there listening. ‘Look,’ he said in reply to Nadia, ‘the fact is there probably won’t be an Authority in another five years.’
Nadia stared at him. ‘What exactly do you mean?’
‘I mean the collapse of the mean global temperature on my alternate is increasing,’ Kip explained. ‘Without a clear and workable plan for evacuation to Nova Terra, we can expect the total breakdown of society in the very near future—and that’s the optimistic view. The failure of the Old Horse Springs Facility makes it inevitable.’
‘That’s just the US,’ said Chloe. ‘What about the rest of your alternate?’
‘In all cases,’ said Kip, ‘the prognosis is far worse. And that brings me to your mission—I’m sending you to retrieve exotic matter.’
Yuichi sat up, suddenly alert. ‘You’ve found a source?’
‘On an alternate named Gamma Three. You were first on the ground there a few years back, Yuichi, if I recall.’ He looked around at the rest of them. ‘We didn’t know it was there until Katya looked through some old files. Now, I want a team of four of you to transfer over there, the same number as last time. But there are risks involved, so I need the rest of you to pay attention in case you’re needed for backup.’
The door opened just then and Katya hobbled in on a pair of crutches. Next to her was a supplies officer named Riggs, guiding her in by her elbow.
‘Thank you, David,’ Katya said to Riggs. ‘I can take it from here.’
Riggs nodded and left. Nadia and Rozalia stood and helped Katya into a seat.
‘You’re just in time, Miss Orlova,’ Kip said to her.
‘It’s good to have you back in one piece,’ said Yuichi. ‘We were all worried about you.’
‘Thank you,’ said Katya, leaning her crutches against the side of the table before taking a quick glance around at the rest of them. ‘I got your card. It was delightful.’
‘I think we should get straight down to things,’ Kip said to her.
‘I agree,’ she said. ‘Before we start, however, I have a small request.’ She looked around at them. ‘Some of you remember Damian Kuzakova, who was in charge of the Soviet scientific delegation some years ago when I first came to this alternate and this island. Damian was hurt much more badly than I in the accident at the Old Horse Springs facility. He would appreciate visitors should any of you have the opportunity. I fear he may have to remain in hospital for some considerable time.’
‘Of course,’ said Nadia. The others nodded.
Katya nodded in turn to Kip. ‘The slide projector, please?’
‘Here,’ he said, passing her the projector’s remote. Katya clicked it and a broken landscape appeared on the screen. The picture had been taken from what appeared to be the slope of a mountain or hill, and showed the jagged remains of buildings spread out beneath a starless sky.
‘What’s the catalogue title for this one?’ Nadia asked Kip.
‘Category 2 NTPD.’
‘Self-inflicted?’ asked Rozalia.
Katya nodded. ‘You can see from the sharpness of the picture that Gamma Three lacks any breathable air or indeed any atmosphere of any kind. It was drained out through this.’
The picture changed, showing a round black flat circle that cut through part of a hill. It was hard to judge its scale unless you looked at the surrounding terrain, in which case it revealed itself to be perhaps fifteen or twenty kilometres in diameter.
In fact, it wasn’t a circle, Rozalia realised, but a pit—a huge one. She glanced over at Nadia and saw that her face had grown marginally paler.
‘A physics experiment involving exotic forms of matter resulted in the creation of a one-ended wormhole,’ Katya explained. ‘You’re looking at its mouth. The far end of the wormhole has been receding from the surface of Gamma Three at the speed of light for nearly a quarter of a century.’
‘I’m still amazed by it,’ said Yuichi with a half-grin on his face. ‘Imagine—a hole twenty-five light-years deep, and getting deeper with every passing second.’
‘Gives me the heebie-jeebies,’ said Nadia with a shiver.
Selwyn shook his head, apparently baffled. ‘I don’t get it. The Earth is what—thirteen thousand kilometres across? So how can a pit be deeper than the planet is wide?’
‘Because the nature of a wormhole is that it extends outside of the physical boundaries of the universe that births it,’ Yuichi explained. ‘It’s a little like how the transfer stages work, except the wormhole in that case is open at both ends and very, very short.’
Selwyn’s face took on a look of horror. ‘So how do we know the same thing that happened to Gamma Three couldn’t also happen to Katya’s facility? Or one of our transfer stages?’
‘I believe the people responsible for generating that bottomless pit made certain fundamental errors of judgement,’ Katya replied. She clicked the remote again and more pictures appeared on the screen, this time showing different views of a single building standing alone amidst a flat and devastated landscape. ‘A few of you explored this structure when you were sent there. I’m quite certain it’s an EM containment facility, although you wouldn’t have realised its significance at the time. Their EM—most likely antimatter—fuelled the creation of that wormhole, and that same exotic matter can allow our transfer stages to establish stable connections between alternate Earths.’ She shifted in her chair so she could again look around at all of them. ‘If I’m right, what you find there could more than make up for the damage to my facility. It could help save tens of millions, if not hundreds of millions, of lives.’
‘Well, that sounds easy,’ said Nadia. ‘We go there, bring the EM back, and all our problems are solved.’
‘If I’m right,’ warned Katya. ‘Otherwise we’re right back where we started.’
‘When do we go?’ asked Yuichi.
‘I scheduled a transfer slot for tomorrow morning,’ said Kip. ‘Nadia, Chloe, Jerry—I’d like the three of you to join Yuichi on this one. You’re all the best qualified.’
They each nodded their agreement.
‘Excellent,’ said Kip, opening his briefcase. He pulled out a handful of documents with “TOP SECRET” stamped on each and passed them out to each of the Pathfinders. ‘I want you all to get yourself acquainted or re-acquainted with everything known about Gamma Three by tomorrow morning.’
‘I guess we ought to talk this over,’ said Chloe, turning to the three other Pathfinders scheduled to travel to Gamma Three. ‘How about now? We could get some breakfast over at Yuichi’s and go over the details.’ She nodded to Rozalia. ‘Want to tag along? You’ve still got a thousand-yard stare after nearly getting munched by that lizard back there.’
‘I guess,’ said Rozalia. She and the other Pathfinders headed outside, and she noticed the air tasted damper than when she had gone in.
‘It’s going to rain later,’ said Chloe gloomily, gazing up at the grey skies. ‘I never thought I’d be afraid of rain. How many curfews is that we’ve had in just the last six months? Twelve?’
‘More like sixteen,’ said Yuichi. ‘It’s some kind of miracle we’ve lasted on this island as long as we have. Merritt might be a murderous son of a bitch, but I can’t help thinking he was right about us needing to abandon it altogether.’
‘And go where?’ asked Rozalia. ‘Nova Terra?’
‘It’s not like we didn’t make our own plans,’ said Chloe, her voice low. ‘The question is do we light out now, or later?’
Rozalia looked at Chloe and wondered if this was, indeed, the time to light out. For years now, she and the other Pathfinders had been secretly stockpiling supplies on a relatively low-risk alternate with the intention of using it as a bolt-hole should the need arise. From the moment Katya Orlova had joined the Pathfinder Project, the Pathfinders themselves had become yesterday’s heroes—and she wasn’t sure she wanted to stick around long enough to find out just what plans the Authority might have for them once they decided they really were excess to requirements.
A silence fell over the group as they trudged across the grass towards a car pool next to the compound gates. ‘I don’t think there’s any hurry,’ Rozalia said at last. ‘Or at least, nothing’s going to happen without Kip warning us first. Besides, we’ve got this mission to do. We can talk again after it’s over.’
They reached the car pool and the rest of them piled into jeeps. Rozalia hesitated, then turned to Nadia. ‘I need some space after that damn thing tried to eat me,’ she said. ‘Like maybe taking a ride on the bike.’
Nadia looked towards the horizon. ‘You know, that storm’s probably going to hit in just the next couple of hours. Remember what happened to Major Howes’ guys. One of them died, Roz.’
‘I’ve faced a lot worse than toxic rain,’ said Rozalia. ‘And I’ll go nuts if I’m stuck in that house for too long. I know how to take care of myself, honey.’
Nadia pulled her close. The others had already piled into jeeps and driven off through the compound gates and back towards town. ‘I don’t need you,’ said Nadia, ‘any crazier than you already are. At least wait until tomorrow morning. Maybe the storm’ll be over by then.’
Rozalia grinned and touched Nadia’s lips with her own. ‘Then I guess I can wait if I have to.’
II
Raggedy Men
Rozalia
Easter Island, Alternate Alpha Zero
